Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 2 February 2017
Congressional Republicans move to dismantle Obama rules

MATTHEW DALY and drilling.
KEVIN FREKING Republicans said the reg-
Associated Press ulation placed an unfair
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mov- burden on U.S. compa-
ing to dismantle former nies by requiring them to
President Barack Obama’s hand over key details of
legacy on the environment how they bid and com-
and other issues, House pete while many foreign
Republicans approved a competitors are under no
measure Wednesday that obligation to do the same.
scuttles a regulation aimed The GOP said the cost of
at preventing coal mining compliance is estimated
debris from being dumped at $590 million a year —
into nearby streams. money that could be used
Lawmakers also voted to to help produce more oil,
rescind a separate rule re- gas and mineral resources.
quiring companies to dis- Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-
close payments made to N.Y., said the only reason
foreign governments relat- to repeal the disclosure
ing to mining and drilling. rule was “to help corrupt
Republicans said the votes governments steal money
were first in a series of ac- from their people.”
tions to reverse years of Republicans voted to re-
what they see as excessive President Donald Trump watches as Vice President Mike Pence swears in Rex Tillerson as Sec- peal the Obama-era rules
retary of State in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017.
government regulation Holding the Bible is Tillerson’s wife Renda St. Clair. Moving to dismantle former President Barack using the Congressional
during Obama’s presiden- Obama’s legacy on the environment and other issues, House Republicans approved a measure Review Act, an obscure
cy. Rules on fracking, guns Wednesday that scuttles a regulation aimed at preventing coal mining debris from being dumped
and federal contracting into nearby streams. oversight tool that could
also are in the cross-hairs (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) become more familiar in
as the GOP moves to void the coming weeks as Con-
a host of regulations final- the coal mining industry publicans voted against re- nancial oversight law, was gress uses it to overturn
ized during Obama’s last right out of business,” said peal, while four Democrats intended to promote trans- regulations federal agen-
months in office. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, supported it. parency so citizens in some cies issued late in Obama’s
“Make no mistake about who sponsored the disap- Lawmakers approved the of the world’s most impov- presidency.
it, this Obama administra- proval measure on the financial disclosure mea- erished countries can hold The Senate took up the
tion rule is not designed to stream protection rule. sure, 235-187. their governments ac- stream rule late Wednes-
protect streams. Instead, it The House approved the The rule, which grew out countable for the wealth day, with a final vote on
was an effort to regulate measure, 228-194. Nine Re- of the 2010 Dodd-Frank fi- generated through mining repeal expected Thursday.
The review law hastens the
process for bringing legis-
lation to the floor and re-
moves the hurdle of a 60-
vote threshold in the Sen-
ate. Regulations imposed
since June 13 can be in-
validated on a simple ma-
jority vote of both GOP-led
chambers and the presi-
dent’s signature.
What’s more, the law pre-
vents the executive branch
from imposing substantially
similar regulations in the fu-
ture.
It is that aspect of the law
that frightens environmen-
tal groups that have fought
for years for the coal-min-
ing rule and another rule to
restrict energy companies
from burning off natural
gas during drilling opera-
tions on public lands.
Using the review act to
overturn a federal regula-
tion “is like burning down
your house because you
don’t like the paint col-
or,” said Jenifer Collins, a
clean water advocate for
the environmental group
Earthjustice.q